Love's a Cliche
by GreysAddictJ
Summary: Callie thinks Valentine's Day is one giant cliché.  Arizona attempts to prove her wrong.


Title: Love's a Cliché

Author: GreysAddictJ

Pairing: Callie/Arizona

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. No infringement intended. Also, I don't use a beta, so all mistakes are mine.

Summary: Callie thinks Valentine's Day is one giant cliché. Arizona attempts to prove her wrong

A/N: I wrote this for the Valentine's Day Challenge on the Callie_Arizona Live Journal

_Two Weeks Before Valentine's Day_

Callie and Arizona were curled up together on the couch, limbs intertwined, content to spend a relaxing evening with no plans on the agenda. Arizona began tracing lazy circles across Callie's arm as her mind wandered. Callie could practically hear the wheels turning in her girlfriend's head. Clearly something was on her mind.

"Out with it, Arizona." Callie said playfully.

"Out with what?" Arizona played dumb.

"Something's on your mind. What is it?"

Arizona looked up into Callie's deep brown eyes and shot her a dimpled grin. "How do you know me so well?"

Callie smiled back at her girlfriend. "You get this sexy little look on your face when you're thinking. Your brow gets all furrowed and you fidget. I love it."

Arizona shook her head. "Whatever you say, Calliope."

"Yeah. To quote you, I'm right and I'm awesome. So spill. What's on your mind?"

"I was just thinking about what we should do for Valentine's Day. It's in 2 weeks and somehow, we've both got the day off. I think we should make the most of it."

Callie groaned. "Arizona . . . you know how I feel about Valentine's Day. It's one giant cliché designed for the greeting card companies to make money. We show each other we love one another every day. Isn't that enough? Can't we forego the corniness and just skip ahead to sexy time?"

Arizona rolled her eyes. "Calliope, for someone who's normally a giant walking ball of mush when it comes to our relationship, you're really being quite unromantic. And don't worry, sweetie. If you play your cards right, there will be plenty of sexy time. But you've got to give a girl some romance first."

Callie grumbled non-committally.

"How about this? You let me plan the day. We'll have fun, I promise. You can just sit back, relax, and let me woo you. No expectations other than your willing participation. I just want to spend a romantic day with you."

"Fine . . . on one condition," Callie replied.

"What's that?"

"You give me a preview of the sexy time right now."

Arizona laughed and led Callie to the bedroom. "Deal."

_Valentine's Day_

Callie woke up to the sensation of butterfly kisses trailing their way across her bare skin. The touch of Arizona's warm lips sent shivers down her spine as a lazy smile traced its way across her face. Finally, her eyes fluttered open and caught sight of her gorgeous girlfriend.

"Morning," Callie rasped sleepily.

"Morning . . . or should I say afternoon, my Valentine." Arizona smirked.

Callie rolled over to look at the clock. It was noon. She sat up, giving her girlfriend a perplexed look. "Why did you let me sleep so late? I thought you had this big day planned for us?"

Arizona nodded. "I do. But I figured you could use some rest, since I kept you up half the night." She smirked slightly as memories of their exploits played in her head.

Callie grinned and pulled her girlfriend down on top of her for a sensuous kiss. Finally breaking away, she stroked a stray hair out of Arizona's face and caressed her cheek. "So what's the plan for the day?"

"I intend to show you that Valentine's Day doesn't have to be a cliché. I'm going to take several very overdone Valentine's Day gestures and give them my awesome spin. You're not gonna know what hit you." She smirked as she reached for something on the bedside table.

An amused expression spread across Callie's face as she saw the contents of the tray her girlfriend handed her.

"Cliché number one. Breakfast in bed," Arizona explained.

Callie chuckled. "Conversation hearts? Hardly the breakfast of champions, babe. And totally a cliché. I'm not sure how you're bucking tradition here."

"Read the messages on the candy, Calliope," Arizona urged.

Callie picked up a few of the sugary hearts and read the text aloud.

"Callie . . . Arizona . . . Forever . . ." She picked up a few more and continued reading. "Awesome . . . Rock Star . . . " She stopped mid-sentence as she read the last one. "Calzona? What the hell is Calzona? Like the folded up pizza?"

Arizona shrugged and giggled. "It sounded good when I ordered them . . . you know . . . our names combined. And it made more sense than Arilliope, which is, you know, just absurd. But, you're right, not that sexy, being named after a food."

Callie smiled and pulled Arizona in for a kiss. "Thanks, babe. I love my 'breakfast,'" she said as she made air quotes with her fingers. "But when are you really going to feed me? I'm starving."

Arizona smiled. "That's next on the agenda . . . and don't worry, after that incident with the grilled cheese, I will not be cooking for you. That's why the candy for breakfast. Now get dressed . . . we've got lunch reservations."

Callie smiled and headed to the bathroom to get ready. Even if she'd never admit it aloud, this was already shaping up to be one of the more memorable Valentine's Days she'd ever had. Her girlfriend was ridiculously adorable.

An hour later, they were seated in a restaurant that Callie didn't even know existed. The restaurant, called Decadence, was an ode to chocolate. Everything on the menu, both sweet and savory, was infused with cocoa or chocolate.

Arizona reached for Callie's hand across the table. "So this is my play on the often given, never original, box of chocolates. We're going to have chocolate for lunch."

Callie smiled. "My favorite kind of lunch . . . other than you."

Arizona rolled her eyes. "Calliope. You. Mind. Gutter. Out."

Callie laughed.

They chatted comfortably while they waited for their orders to arrive. They shared a Mexican chicken dish, which featured a mole, which was a spicy, savory sauce containing chocolate.

For dessert, they shared an elaborate chocolate fondue. They took turns feeding each other. Callie struggled to maintain her composure as she fed Arizona a plump, chocolate saturated strawberry. Juice and chocolate dribbled down her chin. Callie motioned to Arizona that she had food on her face and immediately both regretted and loved that decision. Arizona slowly, painstakingly ran her tongue along her lips, attempting to recapture the stray droplets of chocolate. It took all of Callie's willpower not to jump her girlfriend there and then in the restaurant. Maybe what they said about chocolate being an aphrodisiac was true. Scratch that, she thought, Arizona Robbins was the true aphrodisiac.

After lunch they headed to a nearby mall. As they headed towards a Build-a-Bear Workshop, Callie pulled up short. "Seriously, Arizona? Why are we here?"

Arizona beamed. "You are going to make a teddy bear. Rather than me buying you some clichéd stuffed toy from the store, I thought this would be fun."

Callie rolled her eyes. "I think we're the only customers in here over the age of 10. I can't believe you're making me do this."

"Come on, Calliope. Stop being such a spoil sport. You know you're going to love it."

Callie shook her head. "Oh, no. Not a chance that I'll love it. But I'll humor you . . . only because I'm hoping it will score me some bonus points that I can cash in later."

Arizona chuckled and laced her hand through Callie's before leading them into the store.

A perky teenager in a denim shirt greeted them. "Welcome to Build-a-Bear! I'm Jenny and I'm a Master Bear Builder here. Is this your first time at Build-a-Bear?"

Arizona smiled. "Sure is! My girlfriend here wants to make a bear." Callie grumbled and struggled to maintain a straight face.

"Super!" Jenny replied. "I'll tell you quickly how it works. First, you pick out what kind of stuffed animal you'd like. We have a variety of bears, as well as other animals, like dogs, cats, monkeys, and so on. Then you can pick out a sound to add if you'd like. You can even record your own message if that's what works for you. Then you'll go over to the stuffing machine where you'll give your new friend a heart in a special little ceremony and stuff them with love. After that, you can pick out all sorts of cool clothes and accessories and even make a birth certificate, so start thinking about the perfect name!"

Arizona grinned at the exuberant girl. "Thanks so much for your help, Jenny."

"Any time. Please let me know if you have any questions and if not, I'll see you in a few minutes when you're ready to stuff your animal."

They nodded and went to peruse the variety of different animals to choose from. Callie smirked at Arizona as she glanced back quickly at Jenny. "You know, babe. That girl's level of enthusiasm makes you look dull and boring. She obviously had her Wheaties this morning. But, if medicine doesn't work out for you, I think you just found your back up career . . . Master Bear Builder."

Arizona snorted. "Okay, Calliope. Now stop grumbling and pick an animal."

After much deliberation, Callie decided on a purple bear because she could by the way Arizona had been eyeing it that it was her favorite. Though she'd never admit it, she was having fun. This excursion was dorky and cheesy to say the least, but she was loving it. However, she needed to keep up her standoffish façade – Arizona couldn't know she'd won that easily.

Next, they stopped at a station where they could choose a sound for the bear. The choices ranged from growling sounds to giggling to an obnoxious version of the Happy Birthday song. Callie, however, had another idea. She picked up one of the record-your-own message devices and handed it to Arizona. "Would you record something for me? That way I can hear your voice even if you're at the hospital or checking up on the clinic in Malawi."

Arizona's heart practically melted on the spot. "Awww . . . Calliope. You _do_ have a heart after all. I was beginning to wonder." She placed a quick kiss on Callie's cheek and recorded her message. "I love you, Calliope Torres, with all of my heart. Never, ever forget that. We are made for each other." She pushed the button and sure enough, Arizona's voice rang through.

Callie grinned and silently thanked her lucky stars for having such an amazing person in her life. Next, they headed to the stuffing station, where they were met by Jenny. Jenny placed sound in the bear's paw so that all Callie would have to do was squeeze it to hear her girlfriend's message. Then, she helped Callie pump stuffing into her bear until it was nice and fluffy. Afterwards, Jenny made Callie pick out a heart for her bear.

"Okay, ma'am. Now I want you to take that heart and rub it between your hands to warm it up."

"Seriously?" Callie said incredulously.

"You'd better listen to the girl, Calliope. You don't want your bear to turn out all frowny. It's gonna sense your negative energy."

Callie rolled her eyes and grinned at her girlfriend. "Only for you, babe."

She did as Jenny instructed during her heart ceremony, which included kissing the heart, jumping up and down and making a wish before placing it in the bear's chest cavity.

Arizona struggled to contain her laughter, knowing how foolish Callie must have felt. However, she deserved it, for being the Valentine's Day version of the Grinch. After Jenny sewed up her bear, Callie proceeded to pick out a pair of dark blue scrubs and white lab coat for her bear, whom she named Arizona, naturally.

Both were grinning as they left the store. Arizona loved seeing the softer side of her girlfriend and could tell that she'd secretly had a good time. Callie loved the goofy, almost child-like side of Arizona and relished corny moments like this, whether or not she'd ever admit it.

After their afternoon of bear building Arizona took them to their favorite park, with the bench overlooking the Seattle skyline. Somehow, though she wouldn't tell Callie how, she'd arranged for a warm blanket, hot chocolate and pizza to be delivered just as they arrived.

"So what cliché are we debunking now?" Callie asked as they snuggled under the blanket for warmth.

"A few actually. First, here's my attempt at fixing the cliché that is the gift of roses." She pulled a folder from her bag and handed it to Callie.

Callie's breath caught in her throat as she saw the folder's contents. Inside were several snapshots of a very nude, very sexy Arizona, covered only in strategically-placed red rose petals. Callie struggled for air as she perused the shots. Finally, she turned to Arizona and smiled. "These are amazing . . . you're gorgeous . . . I'm never going to be able to look at a rose the same way again."

Arizona smirked. "That was the point. I'm glad you like them."

Callie nodded. "Love them . . . though I may need a few bricks to throw at whatever photographer you hired to take these. I'm guessing they got quite the show."

Arizona laughed. "Don't worry. My friend Tom took them. And Tom is very, very gay. But jealous is definitely a sexy look on you. Next time, maybe I'll hire a lesbian photographer."

Callie gave her a mock look of warning. "Don't you dare."

Arizona smiled and placed a kiss on Callie's pouting lips. "The pictures weren't the only reason I brought you here. I wanted to put a spin on the candlelit dinner. Since I can't cook, I figured I'd go for the food that brought us closer together in the beginning – pizza. And instead of a dinner lit by candles, I figured a dinner lit by the city skyline would be awesome. Plus, it's cold out here and it gives me an excuse to snuggle up to you. Purely for the purpose of sharing body heat of course."

A smirk played across Callie's face. "I can think of other ways to share body heat."

Arizona rolled her eyes. "Must your mind always been in gutter, Calliope? I'm trying to romance you here."

Callie laughed. "You know you love it."

"Maybe."

They drifted off into comfortable silence as they shared their pizza and gazed out across the city. Finally, deciding that it was time to head home to warm up, Arizona rose. "Time to go – I've got one more cliché waiting for you at home . . . lingerie."

Callie smiled silently. It was time to give up her act. Time to show Arizona that she loved romance too.

Arizona had her back to Callie as she packed the blanket and other things into her bag. She felt Callie tap her and turned around. Callie had a huge grin on her face and Arizona struggled to comprehend the cause of Callie's expression.

"You forgot the biggest cliché of all, Arizona."

"What's that?"

"Proposing on Valentine's Day." Arizona gasped as Callie dropped to one knee and pulled out a velvet box. Yeah. Valentine's Day was clichéd. But for good reason. And she didn't mind it one bit. Love was one cliché that would never get old.


End file.
